SC ruling puts 60% of Aravallis at risk

Environmentalists have expressed serious concern over the future of the Aravalli range, particularly in Haryana, after the Supreme Court removed protection for hills with an elevation of less than 100 metres. In its recent order, while banning issuance of new mining licences, the court accepted an updated definition of the Aravalli hill range submitted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Under this definition, all hills below 100 metres are excluded from local relief and mining protection.

Experts warn this change could open up nearly 60 per cent of the entire Aravalli system to mining activities, posing a severe threat to biodiversity and climate resilience across North India. They have urged the court to reconsider the implications of adopting a uniform elevation-based definition for the ancient mountain.

“Destruction of these smaller hills would result in India’s oldest mountain range losing its continuity which would lead to more gaps created in the range from where dust storms and the Thar desert would advance towards Eastern Rajasthan, Western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi-NCR. What we are extremely concerned about is the acceptance of the uniform definition of the Aravalli Hills by the SC bench as this scrubby and low, help conserve biodiversity, retain water, trap heat and regulate the climate. Losing these hills to mining will worsen dust pollution, water scarcity, extreme weather and impact millions of people living in North West India,” said Neelam Ahluwalia, founder member, People for Aravallis.

The concerns are most acute for Haryana, where the Aravallis are already severely degraded. Environmentalists note that the hills in districts such as Charkhi Dadri and Bhiwani have almost vanished due to extensive mining over the years.

Dr RP Balwan, retired Conservator of Forest, South Circle Haryana — who has worked extensively in the Aravalli landscape — warned that the state’s fragile ecology could be pushed into deeper crisis. “Haryana’s natural forest cover which is already one of the lowest in India, a mere 3.6 per cent, could further decline as the ecologically fragile landscapes lose legal safeguards. Much of Haryana’s notified forest lies within low-elevation hill systems, not meeting the 100 metre criteria. The exclusion of lower hills below 100 metres from the local relief means that vast stretches of scrub hills, grasslands and ridge areas will no longer fall under protected Aravalli zone anymore. These areas can then be opened up for mining which will undo three decades of legal protection. The 100-metre criterion will potentially erase large parts of Haryana's forested Aravallis from official maps, where the terrain undulates but rarely meets that height and deny these areas protection,” he said.

Experts emphasise that the Aravalli forest cover plays a critical role in enhancing precipitation and preventing drought across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi. Normal rainfall patterns in North West India depend heavily on the preservation of the region’s green cover and the evapo-transpiration cycle maintained by the Aravalli hills.